- The bank signed a MoU with law firm Bae, Kim & Lee, and blockchain developer Hexlant.
- The consortium will research and develop crypto exchanges.
- NH bank has been a blockchain fan since 2017, but this is its first direct move in the space.
South Korea’s NH NongHyup bank, has unveiled that it signed a memorandum of understanding to research and develop blockchain-based financial services through a new association. A report unveiled this news on June 10, noting that the bank joined hands with a local law firm and a blockchain laboratory to create digital asset-based financial services.
Per the publication, the MoU will see the bank work with a law firm known as Bae, Kim & Lee alongside Hexlant, a blockchain developer. This consortium reportedly seeks to research and develop crypto exchanges.
South Korea’s crypto exchange permitting system
This news comes three months after South Korea’s legislature passed a law to introduce a permitting system for exchanges that operate in the country. Reportedly, this system leverages the real-name confirmed bank accounts to determine whether an exchange is fit to offer its services to South Korean citizens.
As such, exchanges in the country will have to report their operations to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) after receiving real-name confirmed accounts from commercial banks. To ensure compliance, the law declares that failure to report operations could warrant up to five years in prison or fines of up to £33,000.
Per NH NongHyup bank, this law offers a unique opportunity to onboard the South Korean crypto sector and take a key position.
Elaborating this, the senior vice president at NH NongHyup bank, Jang Seung-hyun said,
“Through the consortium, we will step up efforts to take a lead in the local cryptocurrency industry,”
NH bank’s increasing interest in the blockchain sector
While this move is the first direct attempt to develop its blockchain-based financial services, NH NongHyup has been interested in the blockchain space for quite a while now. The bank joined the R3 blockchain consortium in December 2017. Apart from this, the bank, which specializes in agricultural and commercial credit and banking services also integrated a blockchain-based mobile identification system developed by Samsung into its staff IDs.
Do you think the increasing interest in blockchain technology by banks will help boost the adoption of the crypto space as well? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
